This month, we tackle that crazy little thing called fanon. When the creators of your favorite media leave you in the dark, the impulse to speculate and try to shed some light is only natural. What does this mean for the average geek media aficionado in the digital age? Head canon, fan theories, and works of fan fiction, art and more! Join the Rag-NERD-rok Crew as we discuss some of our thoughts on the matter, along with examples from fandoms we’ve participated in. Afterwards, we’ll scramble to come up with a sketch in Ed’s absence, and read a brand-new five star review!

(Show Notes after the break.)

I. Cold Opening – ALERYER (00:00:00)

When Ryan accidentally stumbles upon a slash fiction website dedicated to the show, the Rag-NERD-rok Crew has a difficult decision to make: do they completely alienate their fanbase, or do they give in to true love and “let the ship sail?” (I think you know what’s going to happen here.)

II. The Fanon Cannon (00:02:29)

Join us for a discussion of all things fanon! What situations are ideal for fanon to develop? How do fandoms use speculation and head canon to create elaborate theories? How does this impact the creation of fan work? What happens when fans’ pet theories are proved wrong? We’ll try to figure out the answers to these questions, using our own experiences and examples from our own fandoms.

III. The Cash for Gold “Sketch” (00:50:13)

Ed was supposed to write a sketch for this month’s episode, but he wasn’t available. Alex, Erik and Meyer have their own idea for a segment, which they totally didn’t just make up on the spot without any preparation whatsoever. Nope. That’s not what happened at all.

IV. Outro (00:52:50)

Thanks for listening to another episode of Rag-NERD-rok! If you’d like to jump in on the discussion about fanon, share your RNR slash fic with us, or simply tell us how wonderful we are, you can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, send us an email, leave us a voicemail at (516) 362 – NERD [6373], or comment below! If you’re a new listener, you can also check out the show on iTunes, too! If you leave us a five-star review, we’ll even read it on the air!